1. Field of the Invention
The seed treating machine of the present invention relates generally to devices which separate mixtures composed of relatively heavy and lighter-weight elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the field of harvesting seeds and marketing them on a large scale, it is desirable to have a machine which will separate the seeds from the husks, sepals, stems and other particulant matter which is inevitably accumulated in harvesting.
Prior devices to generate and direct air currents through a foranimous floor have been proposed, however, such devices were overly complex and ill-suited to the separating of seeds from particulant matter on a large scale. Other previous devices specifically directed to the separation of harvested seeds from particulant plant matter were also overly complex and required separators to produce vibrations. Such devices were directed to assembly line rather than batch processing.
In Bochan U.S. Pat. No. 3,050,869, a drying machine is disclosed wherein a fan blows air past heating coils and through a foranimous floor for drying articles placed on the floor. The flexible floor of the drying machine is cyclically and rapidly deformed, which causes articles resting on the floor to snap or bounce up. The device is operated by an electrical motor, is not manually operable, and uses large amounts of energy in the form of electricity for the heating coils rather than utilizing the efficient direction of air currents. The device will not function to separate elements of a dry mixture.
In McLeese U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,237, a complex agitation movement is generated by an electric motor for moving items of food along a conveyor as frozen air is directed underneath the food through a foranimous floor. No prior device known to applicant separates components of a mixture utilizing a conventional fan and means for thereafter capturing the separated components.